Critisism on new World Map

[Lalaithion]

I really need to save this as like a word file, I keep having to go back through old posts to avoid typing it all again.

First: what I am about to say is a generalization and there are exceptions. but generally...

Generally, mountains affect climate. Clouds and rain are carried by winds that tend to blow in the same patterns. When clouds hit mountains, they dump their rain, causing lush forests. But on the other half of the ridge, there is no rain and a desert is created. a wonderful example of this is Northern California vs Nevada. As you go over those mountains you go from forests, strawberry farms, and wineries to slat flats and cacti.

Certain general worldwide patters (caused by the earths rotation) are shown on this map:
Attachment 42596
Exceptions are common, for example this is how winds generally are:
Attachment 42597

These rainfall areas will affect multitudes of other things as well. Winds coming off deserts will be warm; one of the reasons for the warmth of europe is the wind from the sahara. If you compare southern France with Maine and you will see a vast difference in climates despite similar latitudes.

Here, for reference, is a map of Europe's Topography:
Attachment 42965
And here, a map of the Rainfall, with a strong correlation between changes in altitude and a massive dumping of rain.
Attachment 42967

Once again, there are exceptions, but just think about this before placing major mountain ranges.

Finally; USE AN EQUIRECTANGULAR PROJECTION. if you use one and decide later you want to re-project it there is a simple and easy to use piece of software that will do it for you. if you use something else, you will have to do it by hand. details on the equirectangular projection can be found at this link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection
But basically, the x-axis is Longitude and the y-axis is Latitude.

[octopod]

...If you use one and decide later you want to re-project it there is a simple and easy to use piece of software that will do it for you.

Really? Do tell! I want it!

[Lalaithion]

http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/gprojector/

G-projector.

[octopod]

http://www.giss.nasa.gov/tools/gprojector/

g-projector.

Whoa, thanks. :-D

[Uomaru]

I have now made some minor adjustments on the world map (such as the unexplainable basins). It's not perfect, but I'm not overly concerned with it currently.
I have tried to follow the climate cookbook as well as I can, and I have taken some consideration to what has been previously said in other thread. But there are things that I have a hard time to understand the attached images is my attempt to figure out the ocean currents and the wind pattern + high/low pressure for July and January. It would be great to have input and find out what I have done wrong so far and be corrected. Once again, I have no knowledge of these things except from what I have read in the climate book, Wikipedia and certain threads here on the guild. Help is welcome!

Base.png Ocean Currents.png
Pressure JANUARY.png Pressure JULY.png
Wind Pattern JANUARY.png Wind Pattern JULY.png

[Lalaithion]

...That is amazing. I really cannot wait to see the final product.

[Veldehar]

You have such a large % of land at the equator, I am not qualified to comment on how much that would change weather patterns. That said, a cursory look at your pressure systems seems plausible. The one current that might be iffy is at the top middle of the map where the red warm water arrow heads into the north. The clash there between warm and cold water with a relatively small opening would be interesting. I can't say it is wrong, but it might be suspect. Not a huge issue either way really.

[jbgibson]

Does your world have a twenty-something degree axial tilt like Earth? If so, your intertropical convergence zone is going to shift northwards in the northern summer, and southwards in the northern winter. The shift will be rather more over land, and less over water. A straightforward reference is http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7p.html.

I can't tell the order you've followed, but it makes the most sense to figure generalized seasonal pressures, then generalized seasonal prevailing winds, and only then generalized ocean currents. A whole lot of the driving force for surface currents comes from winds.

[Uomaru]

jbgibson: i started with the generalized pressure and after that I tried to figure out the wind patterns, and lastly the ocean currents, but I didn't know that they were influenced by the wind! What direction does the currents flow if the wind, like in the wind pattern maps over the oceans in both july and january, have different directions (january = clockwise, jully = counter clockwise)?

[jbgibson]

If the seasonal winds outright reverse, I guess other factors like where other currents "push" water will start to matter. That is bound to modify a starter set of wind-driven current guesses anyway. Or decide one season has stronger winds than the other, and just say the total winds up being a weak current in the slightly predominant direction. Or if you're not talking whole oceans worth of water sloshing around, let the current reverse with the winds... would make for some interesting commerce possibility :-).